Substate Preview: 1A-2
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District 3 The favorite: Behind a pair of all-state seniors, Dunkerton has 1A’s most explosive offense, averaging 83 points a game, and the Raiders have to be considered heavy favorites to emerge from this district. Knowing that the Iowa Star…
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Continue ReadingDistrict 3
The favorite: Behind a pair of all-state seniors, Dunkerton has 1A’s most explosive offense, averaging 83 points a game, and the Raiders have to be considered heavy favorites to emerge from this district. Knowing that the Iowa Star wasn’t going to test them much this year, the Raiders stepped up their non-conference schedule, adding games against Denver, Central City, North Linn, Hudson, Newman Catholic, and Sumner-Fredericksburg to the docket. With the exception of a setback against North Linn, they’ve sailed through. Senior combo forward Preston Gillespie Preston Gillespie 6'3" | SF Dunkerton | 2023 State IA (26.5, 11.9 rebounds) is a double-double machine, an efficient forward who is an excellent fit alongside all-state point guard Casey Gardner Casey Gardner 5'8" | PG Dunkerton | 2023 State IA (22.3, 9.4 assists), one of the best passers in the state. Gillespie has improved his ball handling this year, allowing him to create his own looks at a higher level, but it’s Gardner who makes this group go, and he does so at an extremely high level. He has tremendous command of the offense and controls the flow of the game, pushing when the opportunity is there, or knifing through the defense when the game slows down. Sophomore wing Dylan Marquart Dylan Marquart 6'1" | SG Dunkerton | 2025 State IA (14.2) has had an up-and-down year as a shooting threat but is capable of getting scorching hot and carrying this team offensively for stretches, and they can comfortably go eight deep. The Raiders shouldn’t have too many difficulties navigating through this district.
The biggest threat: West Hancock earned the #2 seed in the district and will get their first two games at home. The Eagles play a lot of close games, with 11 of their 20 decided by single digits. They’ve posted a point differential of just +1.0, but in senior wing Rylan Barnes Rylan Barnes 6'3" | SF West Hancock | 2023 State IA (15.2, 10.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists), they have one of the best players in the district and that will make them dangerous. Mitchell Smith (11.8) gives them another solid scoring option, and they do a pretty good job limiting turnovers and playing solid defense. They’ll need to turn a potential district final against Dunkerton into a halfcourt game, but Barnes is a solid do-it-all player who can take over games.
The dark horse(s): The winner of the South Hamilton-Janesville game will have a good chance at knocking off West Hancock in the semifinals. South Hamilton got off to a strong 6-2 start but has struggled since the holiday break, going just 1-8 in their last nine games. That said, the Hawks have played against far-and-away the toughest schedule of any team in the district, playing in the 2A/3A heavy Heart of Iowa, which should prepare them for postseason play. Junior forwards Ryland Ubben Ryland Ubben 6'5" | PF South Hamilton | 2024 State IA (10.4, 36.8 3P%) and Reece Ricke (9.6) are efficient options who can score around the bucket or stretch the floor, and the games against the likes of Roland-Story and Nevada in league play will have them ready here. Janesville is led by senior guard Rogan Gergen (13.5), while Keegan Eastman (9.9) is a solid lead guard who can get others involved and score from all three levels. In Gabe Meaney (5.4, 7.6 rebounds), they have an enforcer in the paint who can control the glass and protect the rim.
Players to watch
2023
Preston Gillespie
Preston
Gillespie
6'3" | SF
Dunkerton | 2023
State
IA
, Dunkerton
2023
Casey Gardner
Casey
Gardner
5'8" | PG
Dunkerton | 2023
State
IA
, Dunkerton
2025
Dylan Marquart
Dylan
Marquart
6'1" | SG
Dunkerton | 2025
State
IA
, Dunkerton
2023
Rylan Barnes
Rylan
Barnes
6'3" | SF
West Hancock | 2023
State
IA
, West Hancock
2024
Ryland Ubben
Ryland
Ubben
6'5" | PF
South Hamilton | 2024
State
IA
, South Hamilton
2024 Reece Ricke, South Hamilton
2023 Rogan Gergen, Janesville
2023 Owen Almelien, North Butler
2023 Corbin Lewis, North Butler
2024
Hunter Hillman
Hunter
Hillman
6'6" | C
Saint Ansgar | 2024
State
IA
, Saint Ansgar
2024
Javont Froiland
Javont
Froiland
6'1" | SF
Central Springs | 2024
State
IA
, Central Springs
District 4
The favorite: A pair of Iowa baseball commits lead a potent Newman Catholic team in Douglas Taylor Douglas Taylor 6'5" | SF Newman Catholic | 2023 State IA (24.7, 12.3 rebounds) and Max Burt Max Burt 6'0" | PG Newman Catholic | 2023 State IA (17.1, 8.0 assists), a pair of highly efficient scorers who can take over games on either end of the floor. Taylor is a long, 6-2 wing who loves to attack the rim and use his length and athleticism to his advantage, while Burt is a heady lead guard with a tremendous feel for the game and great court vision. Noah Hamilton (9.2, 7.4 rebounds) has provided some additional production as a tertiary scorer and strong rebounder, and rim protector. The Knights beat Bishop Garrigan, their likely semifinal opponent, by 18 points early in the season, so they should feel pretty good about the draw they got here.
The biggest threat: Just two weeks ago, West Fork blasted Newman Catholic, 76-56, avenging an earlier loss. The Warhawks have a pair of big-time perimeter scoring threats in juniors Cayde Eberling (16.7) and Sage Suntken Sage Suntken 6'0" | CG West Fork | 2024 State IA (14.5, 40.3 3P%). Both can handle it, get others involved, and create their own shots and carry the team offensively for stretches. In that win over Newman, they combined to score 56 points on 22-34 shooting, so they know that they can get loose against the Knights and should head into that district final with plenty of confidence if it does materialize.
The dark horse: Eight players average between 5.1 and 9.1 points a game for North Union, making the Warriors a tricky team to defend and prepare for, as anyone can beat you on any given night. Junior guard Kyan Jones Kyan Jones 5'11" | PG North Union | 2024 State IA (7.2, 5.9 assists) is the straw that stirs the drink, an experienced guard who can get others involved at a high clip, and this is a team that pounds the glass hard on both ends of the floor. Their depth could be a major benefit in a tight game during postseason play.
Players to watch
2023
Douglas Taylor
Douglas
Taylor
6'5" | SF
Newman Catholic | 2023
State
IA
, Newman Catholic
2023
Max Burt
Max
Burt
6'0" | PG
Newman Catholic | 2023
State
IA
, Newman Catholic
2024 Cayde Eberling, West Fork
2024
Sage Suntken
Sage
Suntken
6'0" | CG
West Fork | 2024
State
IA
, West Fork
2024
Kyan Jones
Kyan
Jones
5'11" | PG
North Union | 2024
State
IA
, North Union
2025
Colby Eskildsen
Colby
Eskildsen
6'6" | SF
Northwood-Kensett | 2025
State
IA
, Northwood-Kensett
2025 Kooper Julseth, Northwood-Kensett
2024
Sam Mericle
Sam
Mericle
6'1" | PG
St. Edmond | 2024
State
IA
, St. Edmond
2023
Jackson Palmer
Jackson
Palmer
5'11" | PG
St. Edmond | 2023
IA
, St. Edmond
2023 Sam Fehr, West Bend-Mallard
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Dunkerton vs. Newman Catholic
Despite the fact that West Fork recently beat Newman Catholic, we’ll take the Knights to come out of District 4, with the belief that they’ll come up with a way to limit the Eberling/Suntken tandem a bit. That sets up a fantastic, high-scoring substate final against Dunkerton. The point guard matchup between Casey Gardner Casey Gardner 5'8" | PG Dunkerton | 2023 State IA and Max Burt Max Burt 6'0" | PG Newman Catholic | 2023 State IA , and the matchup on the wing between Preston Gillespie Preston Gillespie 6'3" | SF Dunkerton | 2023 State IA and Douglas Taylor Douglas Taylor 6'5" | SF Newman Catholic | 2023 State IA , are both huge here. But those stars largely wash each other out, and it’s the depth and scoring of Dunkerton’s other pieces that send the Raiders to the state tournament for the first time since 2014.